


The right tree

by lime_kitty



Series: Christmas Collection [2]
Category: Lego Ninjago, The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, Fights, Idiots in Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28181634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lime_kitty/pseuds/lime_kitty
Summary: Cole and Kai go to get a tree for the Christmas party. Kai though isn't a great fan of nature, so any tiny mishap can cause him to explode.Why would Cole even drag him out there? He's strong enough to chop the tree all by himself!
Relationships: Cole/Kai (Ninjago)
Series: Christmas Collection [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2056407
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	The right tree

“Aaah!”

The scream echoed all over the forest, when Cole turned around just a fraction later, he found Kai splattered on the ground, bits of snow all over him and a reddish line across his cheeks. The red ninja quickly sat up and brought his hands up to his face.

“Ouch! Cole!”

“Sorry, I thought you were a bit further behind, I didn’t expect that branch to hit you.”

Kai grunted, rubbing his nose vehemently, but it seemed like the more he touched it the worse the aching got. The boy heard giggles on top of him. Once he looked up he found Cole grinning childishly.

“What are you laughing at?”

The other needed yet another moment to contain his amusement. “You look like a gingerbread man with all that snow on top of you.”

Kai flushed deeper, this time not from a sudden smack of a branch, but from embarrassment and the sudden need to strangle his boyfriend.

Cole stretched out a hand and helped him up. “Why don’t you walk next to me?”

Kai didn’t give a proper reply, just another annoyed noise as he moved to Cole’s side. The master of Earth grabbed his hand and they resumed their march.

It was Christmas Eve. The ninja team had decided to split tasks that year to prepare the celebrations; they would all take care of something to save them all from extra stress and, hopefully, have a nice holiday and rest peacefully —they really needed a break after fighting so many bad guys every day.

Everyone had agreed to leave the cooking to Zane. Nya, Jay, and Lloyd had gone out for some last-minute shopping, and Cole and Kai were in charge of the tree.

The couple could have perfectly joined the others in their visit to the mall, but… a certain black-haired ninja had had another idea.

_ ‘We’re not getting a fake tree. Those things stink of cheap plastic. That’s not how Christmas is supposed to smell.’ _

Kai had tried to convince Cole, but the boy didn’t budge, which led them to a quick walk through the nearby forest to get a real pine. Well, ‘quick’ was a form of speech at this point. Not only the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow that turned their steps slower than usual, but Cole was also such a nitpicker and nothing seemed to please him.

Kai shivered lightly and let go of Cole’s hand to put the limb inside the pockets of his red jacket.

“Are you cold?”

“I’m the master of fire, I physically  _ cannot _ be cold.” Kai spat. “I just don’t like this weather. It makes me feel weird,” he said hiding his chin deeper into his clothes.

“We’ll be done soon,” Cole reassured him.

“You’ve already said that and, look, we’re still here. Why don’t we just grab one and go back? It’s just a damn tree!”

“Nah, it has to be the right one.” Cole chuckled, to which his boyfriend arched a brow.

“They’re all the same, Cole; brown trunk, green spiky leaves... They’re just-”

“Wait,” Cole shushed him all of a sudden. 

The black ninja took a few strides forward then two more to the left, standing in front of a specific pine. He took out one of his gloves and placed it on the log, feeling the wood underneath his palm.

“That’s the one,” Cole declared after a few moments.

His boyfriend cocked an incredulous brow at him. “Are you kidding? What, the tree talked to you or something?”

“Uh, yeah, kinda.” Cole looked up and observed the dense foliage, full of snowflakes sticking to it. “This one wants to come with us,” he said with a smile and a dreamy look on his face.

Kai blinked several times. Boy, he loved that man, but Cole sure was  _ unique _ when it came to nature.

“Anyway, let’s get down to business. I can’t wait to get back and lie down on the couch.” Kai expressed once again his need of getting away from the freezing winter chill.

Cole pulled out the ax and quickly started chopping the base of the tree. Kai made sure to stay a safe distance from him when the pine went down, and even with that he still got more snow on himself, as the vibrations from the impact made the other wooden peers jerk their branches.

"God, dammit…" He cursed under his breath shaking the cold white specs off his hair.

"Don't whine so much. Come on, grab the top," Cole said while lifting the tree by the trunk.

Kai didn't even feel like questioning why his super-strong boyfriend needed his help for that, he just wanted all this tree drama over already.

The two ninjas made their way back to the monastery, the trip would take longer this time, as it was uphill and they now had to carry extra weight with them. If only there wasn't so much annoying snow all around… Kai tripped quite a few times and almost fell face first on one occasion, pulling out giggles and cackles from Cole every single time.

Kai practically counted the steps that separated him from the warm and cozy interior of their home when he started feeling itchy around his neck. Cole warned him to be careful as he tried to jerk and get rid of that strange discomfort without letting go of the tree. Eventually, he released only one hand, and brushed it through his gelled locks, hoping that maybe a rebellious hair was tickling him when he saw a small dot floating in front of his eyes. It was tiny, somewhat dark, and…

"Aaaaaah!"

Cole huffed as Kai let go of the tree and the trunk pushed against his tummy for a second. The black ninja chased his boyfriend around as Kai jerked, threw his jacket onto the snow, and furiously ran his fingers through his hair, previously stylized to the tiniest detail, but now it was just a spiky mess.

"Hey, Kai! What's wrong?"

"Spider!" The other yelled. "There was a spider! On my head!" He kept messing up his hair, squealing and quivering as he tried to get rid of any other arachnids fellows.

"You're making all this ruckus for just a spider?" Cole chuckled.

"Just a-? Cole, it was in my hair! It was fucking hanging down from my hair! Right in front of my eyes!"

"So? You've fought way bigger and more dangerous creatures! You have to expect at least a few bugs on you when you go out to the forest and get close to plants." Cole laughed out loud then walked back to the fallen pine. "Come on, stop playing around and help me with this."

Cole's smiles and happy faces usually would melt Kai, but right then… Cole's laughter only infuriated him all the more.

"Help you?! Help you my ass!" Kai exploded. "I'm done here! I'm done with this forest's freaking fauna and I'm done with your stupid tree!"

The master of fire then started to walk away.

"What? Babe, come on! Don't get so worked up."

The other though didn't stop marching.

"Kai!" Cole shouted again. "You're really gonna leave me here with this?"

The red ninja gave his boyfriend an angry look over his shoulder. "You know damn well that tree is like a feather to you! I don't even know why you made me come all the way down here!"

And with that, Kai sped up his feet, stomping hard onto the ground and hugging himself to create some protection against the cold weather. He was not risking taking back his jacket to find another disgusting bug. His boyfriend kept calling for him a few more times, and he ignored each one of them.

♦️♦️♦️

Cole made it to the monastery. On any other day, the trip back wouldn't have taken him very long, but as he had to transport the pine carefully to not get it stuck somewhere, his march had to be slower than usual.

The black ninja left the tree by the entrance and went to the kitchen to get a bucket with water to make a stand for it. As soon as he stepped in, the smell of Zane's wonderful cooking made him salivate.

"God, I don't know what's cooking but I already want more."

Zane turned around, his hands occupied stirring something in a bowl. He smiled at his friend's compliment.

"Hello, Cole. How did it go?"

"Good, we've got you all the best tree."

"That is wonderful!"

Cole busied himself with the bucket. "Although, uhm… I made Kai mad," he commented.

"What happened?"

"I… I think I teased him a bit too much."

"Oh. Well, then you should go and apologize."

Cole shrugged, not all that convinced. "He's probably locked up in his room anyway."

"Cole…" Zane put the bowl down on the countertop and squeezed his shoulder gently. "You know Kai. He has a short temper but he forgets about it very fast too. Don't let the two of you be sour on a day like this."

His friend's words calmed Cole's heart.

"You're right." The black ninja grabbed the bucket and moved away towards the door. "I'll go check up on him right away."

Zane waved a hand at him before going back to his cooking.

After Cole was done preparing the tree stand, he brought the pine inside and made sure to secure it so it wouldn't tumble when they put the accessories on it. That little task had given him a few more minutes to ready himself for a chat with Kai.

The master of Earth stood before his boyfriend's room and took a deep breath before softly pulling the door open. Announcing himself would be stupid, for Kai had surely foreseen his visit.

Inside the warm room, Cole found his hothead of a boyfriend lying on the bed, phone in hand and eyes glued to the screen as his fingers tapped on it every now and then. Cole also noticed how Kai had changed his clothes and his hair had a fluffier look, which only happened when he air-dried it. 

_ He totally took a shower as soon as he got here, _ Cole thought, both finding it funny how Kai could lose his cool over a tiny insect, but also feeling bad that he'd made fun of the boy for that.

"Hey…" Cole said softly, walking to the bed.

Kai just hummed, not caring to look up from whatever he was doing on his phone.

"You forgot your jacket outside," Cole said, waving the red article in front of him with a weak smile.

Kai finally acknowledged him, he looked up, eyebrow arched, and gaze moving between Cole and the jacket.

"There are no more spiders, I promise."

Kai clicked his tongue and sighed, automatically returning his attention to the device in his hands.

Cole mentally slapped himself. Someday, maybe someone would write a book with the perfect formula to talk to people in different situations, but until then, Cole would mess up a lot of times.

He left the jacket on the chair and went to sit on the edge of the bed, turning around sheepishly to look at Kai.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you..."

Kai’s fingers paused, the boy worried his lower lip.

"You know how much I hate having bugs on me," he said, gaze not making any sort of connection with Cole yet. His voice low and sullen denoted that the fire wielder was pissed.

"You're right, I shouldn't have made fun of you nor talk to you like I did. I'm very sorry, Kai. I just..." Cole faltered.

“Just...?”

"Nevermind."

"Cole," Kai quickly scolded before his boyfriend could try an evasive maneuver.

The black ninja shrank in shame, but when he turned to look at his beau again, he found Kai staring back at him. His expression still not all that friendly, but seeing Kai’s eyes calmed Cole a few degrees.

He sighed, feeling anxious all of a sudden —something that didn’t happen very often when he was around his lover. 

"There's a reason I wanted you to come with me to get the tree… even if I knew I could transport it all by myself."

Kai didn’t say anything, he sat there on the bed next to Cole, intently looking at him with a subtle frown. He was allowing Cole his time to talk.

"When I was a kid, I used to do this with my parents. My mom would search for the perfect tree for hours. It was she who taught me how to spot the best ones. Then we would decorate it all together at home. We always had so much fun. I… I guess I just wanted to share that experience with you because… You know… You’re very important to me."

As Cole’s words left his mouth, Kai started to rise more on the bed, until he was fully sitting next to Cole, his legs hanging over the edge of the bed and hazel eyes looking at his companion with concern.

"Cole… I had no idea the tree thing meant so much to you,” Kai whispered, hands turning into fists over his knees. “God, I feel awful now."

"It's not your fault, you had no idea," Cole said softly.

"You should have told me!"

"I… didn't want you to pity me or make you feel obligated."

Kai hung his head in defeat. Cole knew his boyfriend understood his reasoning. Kai hated bringing up his lost parents in any conversation, whether to avoid the pain that traveled with memories or the empty words of encouragement that usually came with telling people you had lost someone so important in your youth.

“I’m so sorry,” Kai murmured again.

“Don’t sweat it, babe.” Cole wrapped an arm around Kai’s shoulders, bringing him closer and kissing the top of his head. “I should have paid more attention to you so you didn’t feel pointless and make sure you enjoyed it as much as I was.”

Kai flashed him an embarrassed smile.

“I can still help you put up the decorations, right?”

Cole’s face lit up. “If you wanna.”

"I'd  _ love _ to." Kai grabbed the collar of Cole's gi and pulled him in, smacking Cole's lips with a confident kiss. "But promise me there will be no more bugs.”

Cole let out a soft chuckle and guided Kai's head on top of his shoulder before hugging the boy. 

“I promise you… that I will protect you from them if they show up.”


End file.
